Button sewing machine



Sept. 1, 1942. R. 1.. LYONS BUTTON SEWING MACHINE Filed Oct. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-sheaf, 1

Sept. 1, 1942. R. L. L'YONS BUTTON SEWING MACHINE Filed Oct. 5, 1957 2 She'ets-Sheet 2 A7720 a MZiMg Mi WWW Wi the cam l3, this being a common and well understood manner of effecting such motion.

The back and forth motion of the work holders is accomplished by a cam H having a cam groove 18 therein in which rides a follower [9 on a lever 20. This lever is connected through a rocking link 22 with a lever 23 having one end engaging in a suitable slot 230 in the block II, the connection with the lever 23 being through a link 24 pivoted at one end to the lever 23 and having its other end adjustable in an arcuate slot 2| in the rocking link 22.

The work holders may be pivotally mounted so that they may be raised from normal sewing position in the well known manner in order to break the thread at the end of the complete machine operation and to present the button clamp in convenient position for the operator to insert a button therein.

The cams I3 and I! are driven in timed relation to the sewing instrumentalities by means of the drive shaft 25 having the usual belt pulleys 29 at its rear end. The shaft 25 may be provided with a worm which meshes with worm wheels in fixed relation to the cams l3 and Il, one of these worm wheels being shown at 25 in Figure 1. At the forward end of the shaft 25 it is shown as carrying a gear 21 which meshes with a gear 28 on the looper shaft 30. The needle bar is actuated in the well understood manner from a rotary shaft (not shown), two crank arms 35 being shown for driving this shaft.

As in my Patent No. 2,033,080, to which reference has heretofore been made, at 40 is positioned the usual thread tension and at 4| and 42 are positioned other thread tensions corresponding to the thread tensions 35, 36 and 31, respectively, of the patent, and provision is made through the dropping of a rod 43 under the action of a spring 45 after the stitches have been placed in the first pair of holes in the button to grip the thread at the tension 42, to release the thread at the tension 4|, and to actuate the thread pull-off 44 to pull off a supply of thread for the stitching operation through the second set of holes in the button after the thread has been broken. The actions of these tensions and the thread pull-off may be the same as shown and described in my patent, as shown, each set of stitches ending with a plurality of tying stitches and the thread being severed in such position that the severing completes the tying of the thread at the end of each set of stitches, the present invention having to do with the manner in which the severance of the thread is insured. Mechanism for this purpose will now be described.

Beneath the work table is pivotally mounted an auxiliary thread finger 50 shown detached in Figure 3. This auxiliary finger has an edge portion angular lengthwise and provided at the internal apex of the angle with a threadreceiving notch 52. This auxiliary thread finger is spaced from the under face of the work table, as shown best in Figures 4 and 10, by an amount sufficient to receive therebetween the usual thread finger 55, which, in turn, is spaced from the lower face of the work table suficiently to permit the thread to pass therebetween without being pinched. Both fingers should be above the edge of the usual needle deflector 66. This main thread finger is shown detached in Figures 5 and 6 and comprises a thread-engaging portion 56 at its forward end and having a shank portion 51 angularly related thereto and somewhat sharply offset from a part 58 which may be secured as by a screw 59 and pin 60 to a rocking cam member 6|. This thread finger is mounted to cooperate with the looper l to spread the sides of the loop to permit the needle to pass between them in the usual manner, and as such a finger is liable to be struck by the needle when the machine is not in proper adjustment and become broken, it is desirable that it be so mounted as to permit its ready removal for replacement. For this reason the part 53 is arranged to be secured to the lower face of the cam member El so that the finger is readily accessible for removal by merely unscrewing the screw 59. As it is necessary to bring this operating portion closely adjacent to the under face of the work table, it is given the offset hereinbefore described. In order, also, to clear the auxiliary thread finger 50, it is shown as provided with the clearance cut-out 55 in this offset portion.

The cam member 5! is pivoted as at $58 to a slide 10 mounted in guides ll and i2 secured to the lower face of the work table and arranged to be reciprocated by the rotation of a cam 13 carried by the driving shaft 25. This cam 13 is provided with a cam groove 14 in which rides a cam follower roll 15 carried by the slide 10. The cam 61 is provided with a follower finger 75, which, as the slide it is traversed back and forth, impinges alternately on a pair of cam blocks TI and 18 secured to the guide member 12, the rocking motion of this cam 6! being illustrated in Figures 7 to 9. This cam member 6|, with its operating means, gives the thread finger its motions necessary for the finger to cooperate with the looper and needle to make stitches in the well understood manner, and in accordance with this invention, it is also caused to cooperate with the auxiliary finger 50 to insure the severance of the thread at the proper time. This time is after the stitches of the first set have been placed in the work and before the start of the formation of the second set of stitches and when the thread is clamped at the tension 42. As shown, this auxiliary finger is. actuated through a connection to the link 22, the rocking of which causes the forward and back motion of the work holders to present different portions of the work into position for stitches to be placed therein. As shown, the link 22 has pivotally connected to one end a rod which is connected through an adjustable coupling 8i with a rod 82, the forward end of which is pivotally connected to the rear end of the auxiliary finger 50. The rods 80 and 82 are positioned above the upper face of the base member I which constitutes the work table, and this is provided with an opening 85 in order that a pin in the forward end if the rod 82 may engage in an opening 86 at the rear end of the auxiliary finger.

During the formation of the stitches of the first set when the work holders are in their rearward positions, the auxiliary finger is in the position shown in Figure 7, its notch portion 52 being back of the throat S0 of the throat plate. It there remains during the placing of the stitches of the first set while the main thread finger is given its cycle of motions with relation to the needle and the looper to form the first set of stitches.

VVhen the work holders are moved forwardly to present the work in position for the second set of stitches to be placed, the auxiliary finger 50 is rocked to bring its edge across the throat 90,

as shown in dotted lines in Figure 8, so as to engage the stitching thread in its notch 52, as shown in Figure 10. The next subsequent motion of the thread finger 56 then causes this finger to carry the thread loop across and away from the auxiliary finger, causing a pull on the thread in addition to that exerted by the spreading action of the looper, tensioning the thread against the auxiliary finger, which additional pull is so substantial in amount that the breaking of the thread is insured. Figure 9 illustrates this separating motion of the thread fingers. The auxiliary finger remains in this position, but clear of the throat 96, so as not to interfere with the passage of the needle during the placing of the second set of stitches in the work, and is moved back to its initial position only after the completion of the sewing cycle when the parts are positioned for the placing of the first set of stitches for another article to be sewed.

In Figures 11, 12 and 13 is shown a modification in which the thread is out instead of being broken between the two sets of stitches. The cutting means herein shown comprises a needle deflector I such as is commonly employed in connection with button sewing machines, the deflector here, however, being modified to perform not only the usual deflecting function, but also presenting a cutting edge operative to cut the thread at certain times determined by the action of the usual and the auxiliary thread fingers. The needle deflector I92] is shown as provided with a, notch [ill in its edge, this notch presenting an edge face in the position normally occupied by the active part of the usual deflector, and against which the needle may bear in case this deflector is called upon to accomplish its desired deflecting function. The auxiliary thread finger H35 may be identical with the auxiliary finger 50, but as shown in Figure 13, its thread-engaging end may be somewhat shorter, and it is positioned beneath rather than above the needle deflector. It is hooked as at I06 to engage the loops of thread and move them over, as shown in Figure 11, toward the cutting edge B8 of the needle deflector when the button clamp is being moved to present the second set of holes in the button. into the needle path, the actuation of this auxiliary thread finger being the same as that illustrated previously herein. On the subsequent normal stitching movement of the thread finger 55, the branch I69 of the thread loop then engaged about the looper is wiped across the edge I08 and severed closely adjacent to the work as shown in Figure 12, the two thread fingers moving from the positions shown in Figure 11 to those shown in Figure 12. During the normal stitching operation the thread finger 55 functions in a normal manner in connection with the presentation of the thread loops in position for the needle to pass therethrough, the auxiliary finger I95 then being retracted so that the thread loop does not come in contact with the cutting edge H38 of the needle deflector.

. Where the thread is to' be cut as thus described, the thread clamping may take place a little later in the cycle of the machine than where reliance is placed on breaking, in order that the thread may not be broken before the time for cutting. In either case, however, the thread is held clamped for a sufficient time to cause continued operation of the machine to pull the cut thread end out of the knotting loop, down through a the desired extent toward the back face of the work so that a long starting end .of thread may not project from the back face of the work when the button sewing has been completed.

While the machine shown is intended for sewing on buttons, the invention is not restricted "thereto but is applicable to analogous situations where it is desired to place stitches in separate independent sets with the same needle, and in a continuous machine operation.

From the foregoing description of an embodiment of this invention, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

3.. The combination in a sewing machine having a work holder, sewing instrumentalities, means for driving said instrumentalities to place stitches in work held by said holder, and means for relatively moving said holder and instrumentalities during a continuous machine operation to place a definite number of stitches through one portion of the work in one set ending with a tying stitch and thereafter a definite number of stitches through another portion of the work in another set, of a thread finger, and connections from said, moving means to said finger to cause parts in cluding said finger to sever such stitching thread in position to complete the tying of the thread during the relative motion of said instrumentalities and holder between the placing of the stitches of the two sets.

2. The combination in a sewing machine having a work holder, sewing instrumentalities including a needle, means for driving said instrumentalities to form stitches, means for relatively moving said needle and work holder alternately in opposite directions during the stitching operation laterally of the needle axis between successive stitch formations ending with a plurality of stitches while said moving means is stationary, and means acting after the placing of said plurality of stitches to relatively shift said work holder and needle transverse to such lateral movement, of a thread finger, and means acting during such shifting to actuate said finger to cause parts including said finger to sever the hole in the second pair of the button and up to stitching thread in position to complete tying of the thread.

3. The combination in a sewing machine having a work holder, sewing instrumentalities including a needle, means for driving said instrumentalities to form stitches, means for relatively moving said needle and work holder alternately in opposite directions during the stitching operation laterally of the needle axis between successive stitch formations and then to hold said work holder stationary during a plurality of stitches, and means acting after said holding to relatively shift said work holder and needle trans verse to such lateral movement, of a finger, and operative connections between said shifting means and finger to move said finger against the stitching thread when the shift is made and cause severance of the thread in position to complete the tying of the thread after the formation of a set of stitches.

4. The combination in a sewing machine having a work holder, sewing instrumentalities including a needle and a loop taker, means for actuating said instrumentalities to place stitches, means to move said work holder laterally alternately in opposite directions between successive sewing strokes of said needle and then to hold said work holder stationary during a plurality of stitches, and means to move said work holder transverse to said lateral motion after said plurality of stitches have been placed, of a finger positioned between said work holder and said loop taker, and connections between said finger and said transverse work-holder-moving means actuating said finger to cause severance of the stitching thread as said work holder is given said transverse motion and in position to complete the tying of the thread.

5. The combination in a sewing machine having a work holder, sewing instrumentalities including a needle, a loop taker and a thread finger, means for actuating said instrumentalities to place stitches, means to move said work holder laterally alternately in opposite directions between successive sewing strokes of said needle, and means to move said work holder transverse to said lateral motion after a predetermined number of stitches have been placed, of an auxiliary finger positioned between said work holder and said loop taker, and connections between said auxiliary finger and said transverse work-holder-moving means, to move said auxiliary finger to thread-engaging position as said work holder is given said transverse motion and where said thread finger will cooperate with said auxiliary finger to cause severance of the thread.

6. The combination in a sewing machine having a work table, a cloth plate on said table, an article-holder for supporting an article on work on said plate, sewing instrumentalities including a loop taker beneath said table and a reciprocating needle, means to actuate said instrumentalities, means to move said plate and holder laterally in opposite directions between needle strokes until a predetermined number of stitches have been placed, means then acting to move said plate and article holder transverse to said lateral motion to present a different portion of the work to the needle, a finger pivotally mounted below said work plate and having a portion which may be rocked into engaging relation to a thread loop extending between said needle and loop taker, a connection from said finger to said transverse moving means to so rock said finger when said plate and holder are given their transverse motion, and means cooperating with said finger in thread-engaging position to cause severance of the thread.

'7. In combination in a sewing machine having a work table, a cloth plate on said table, an article holder for supporting an article on work on said plate, sewing instrumentalities including a loop taker beneath said table and a thread finger cooperating with said loop taker, and a reciprocating needle, means to actuate said instrumentalities, means to move said plate and holder laterally in opposite directions between needle strokes until a predetermined number of stitches have been placed, and means then acting it f) to move said plate and article holder transverse to said lateral motion to present a different portion of the work to the needle, an auxiliary finger pivotally mounted below said work plate and having an edge which may be moved into engaging relation to a thread loop extending between said needle and loop taker, and a connection from said auxiliary finger to said transverse moving means to rock said auxiliary finger when said plate and holder are given their transverse motion, said auxiliary finger then being in position for said thread finger by its normal motion to insure the severance of said thread.

8. In asewing machine, a needle, a needle defiector having a needle deflecting portion and a cutting edge adjacent to said deflector portion, a loop taker, a movable thread finger cooperating with said loop taker in the formation of stitches, an auxiliary thread finger, and means acting at certain times to actuate said auxiliary finger to so position the thread that said thread finger in its normal sewing movement draws the thread against said cutting edge and causes severance thereof.

9. In a button sewing machine, a needle, a needle deflector having a needle deflecting portion and a cutting edge, a loop taker, a movable thread finger cooperating with said loop taker in the formation of stitches, a work holder, means for relatively moving said needle and work holder to present alternately each hole of a pair in the button into the needle path during a portion of the sewing operation to first stitch through two holes of a pair in the button and then to present the second pair of holes in the button into the needle path to place stitches in the second pair of holes in the button, an auxiliary thread finger, and means acting when the needle and work holder are moved relatively to present the second set of holes in the button in the needle path to actuate said auxiliary thread finger to present the thread to said cutting edge in position for the subsequent normal motion of said movable thread finger to cause said edge to cut the thread.

10. In a sewing machine having in combination, a throat plate provided with a needle receiving opening, a needle movable through the opening from above the throat plate, a looper below the throat plate cooperating with the needle in the formation of stitches, a thread finger successively movable across the needle opening and cooperating with the looper in the formation of said stitches, an auxiliary finger, and means operative after the formation of a plurality of said stitches for moving the auxiliary finger across said opening in engagement with the thread and positioning the same for engagement thereof by the thread finger for tensioning the thread preparatory to the severance thereof.

ROBERT L. LYONS. 

